


Where Exactly Is Here?

by hellagayhufflepunk



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: AU, F/F, F/M, Friendship, Gen, Multi, Romance, Team Arrow
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-11
Updated: 2016-03-14
Packaged: 2018-05-13 06:59:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5699233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hellagayhufflepunk/pseuds/hellagayhufflepunk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It’s been six months since the Mirakuru Warrior attack, and Team Arrow is getting back into the swing of things. Roy has now officially joined the team, Dig and Lyla are expecting a baby, and Sara and Felicity are happy in a relationship. However, with the city changing, and new villains challenging Team Arrow, ‘here’ is becoming more of a question than a comfort. *Sequel to 'You're Always Welcome Here' *</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Lovebirds and Supervillians

**Author's Note:**

> : I greatly apologize for the huge delay of this sequel. There really is no excuse for it being so long, so I‘m not going to try to make any excuses. I just hope that this story makes up for it, in some way. Thank you for sticking with me, after all this time. If you have any ideas for this story, let me know! Thank you for reading and I hope you guys enjoy!

Sunlight streaked through the windows of Felicity’s house. Sara was still in bed but Felicity had already risen to make herself some coffee. The night before had been a pretty rough one: a drug bust was much more difficult than they intended and Sara had to fend off ten guys by herself. She got shot in the shoulder and received more than a few bruises. Roy and Laurel showed up just in time to help drag the injured Sara back to the newly renovated Arrow Cave. 

“Wakey, wakey, little bird.” Felicity whispered. She had crawled back into bed with Sara and was rubbing circles on Sara’s toned stomach. 

“Mhhmm five more minutes.” Sara grumbled, throwing a pillow over her eyes. 

“No. You promised to come with me to the board meeting today and then go out to lunch.” Felicity argued quietly. She took the pillow off her girlfriend’s eyes and kissed her nose. 

“That I did.” Sara replied in a sleepy voice. 

“Then get up, come one. Rise and shine little bird, you need to take a shower and get dressed.” Felicity ordered, sealing her words by kissing Sara’s lips.  
~~  
Many things can be said about Felicity Smoak. That she’s intelligent, stubborn to a fault, scary when she does get angry. One thing you can’t say is that she gives up easy. Ever since Slade’s attack, Queen Consolidated had been going more and more downhill. But Felicity, unlike many who worked there, never gave up on the company. Not only because it was the only thing Oliver had that bonded him to his parents, but also because it was important to Felicity, too. It’s where she spent so much time and the job gave her a fresh start after college and it jumpstarted her career working with vigilantes. Not where she’d thought her life would go, though Felicity wouldn’t want it any other way. 

During the last six months she has developed a couple different softwares and designed a few different technologies for the Applied Sciences that Queen Consolidated used to get themselves back on top. Because of her brilliance she was promoted to the Chief Technology Officer of Queen Consolidated and many believed she would soon become CEO. It wasn’t easy but it was worth it. Oliver was CEO, however his heart wasn’t into it as much as he should and he was a much better crime fighter than he was boss. He relied upon Felicity as well as Walter Steele for guidance. 

The board meeting was boring for the most part. Sara stood outside the glass doors, watching her girlfriend take command of the room. She babbled and make awkward sexual innuendos but there was a passion in her eyes and her heart was into this company. That much was undeniable. Sara smiled to herself like an idiot. Out of all the people Felicity could have chosen to be with, Felicity chose Sara. That was worth more to Sara than she could ever express.  
~~  
The Foundry had been redone in line of Slade’s attack. Thanks to Felicity’s new job, Team Arrow once again had the funds to do what they do with the help of the best technology and equipment available. Felicity and Sara arrived at their home away from home, hand in hand, to see that Oliver and Roy were already sparring each other. Diggle wasn’t in the Foundry- he was probably out with Lyla, since their baby was almost ready to be born. Laurel was most likely attending to some DA business. She had been recently promoted and the job kept her busy, though she still made time for training. 

“Afternoon, boys.” Felicity greeted, plopping her purse down on the table. She sat down in her chair and began looking through the alerts on the computer. Mostly things were quiet and there wasn’t much to report. The Arrow and all his friends were scaring off most of the criminals it seemed. 

“Hey Felicity, hey Sara” Roy greeted back in between strikes to Oliver; all of which Oliver blocked of course. In one swift motion, Oliver swept Roy’s legs out from under him with his foot and then put the kid in a chokehold.

“Didn’t I tell you to not get distracted when fighting an opponent?” Oliver said half playful, half serious. He let Roy go and Roy tilted his head to one side in agreement to what his mentor said. 

“Oh, lay off the kid, Ollie. He’s come a long way in the time you’ve been training him.” Sara called to him. She put her arms above her head to stretch, much to the protest of her shoulder. She grimaced but kept stretching. 

“Thanks, Sara. You’re a real one.” Roy said, walking over to where his hoodie was and slipping it over his head. “How are you feeling? You took some pretty gnarly hits last night.” 

“Not bad. I’ve had worse. Besides, we got those guys in the end, so it’s all worth it.” Sara replied. She leaned up against one of the tables and debated whether or not she should work out a little or rest her shoulder. A shooting pain in her shoulder when she tried to stretch it again gave her the answer. 

“Speaking of those guys last night, I have a feeling they are angry we interfered last night. Felicity, do you have any idea of who they were or where they might strike next?” Oliver asked. He too had put a shirt back on and he strode over to Felicity’s workspace. 

After a few swift keystrokes, she pulled up the files of the men at the drug bust last night as well as some news articles. “They’re a part of a group that doesn’t seem to have any official name. But they do have a leader that they call ‘The Warlord’. No one has seen The Warlord in person. This group is dealing a drug of their own concoction that they call Kingdom Come. Which we stopped a distribution of last night.” Felicity explained. 

“If these guys are dealing a new drug, how come we haven’t heard about them before?” Sara questioned. 

“They sprung up maybe a few months ago and have doing most of their activity behind the scenes. These guys have only recently decided to come out into the light.” Felicity responded. She tried looking up some more files on the group but she only came up with some more police reports that told her what she already knew. 

“We should talk with the men arrested last night. Maybe they can help us answer some of our questions about this Warlord.” Oliver commanded. 

“That would be an excellent plan. Except all the men arrested last night committed suicide.” Felicity answered, not looking up from her computer. 

Sara’s mouth fell open a bit, Oliver clenched his jaw, and Roy swallowed dryly. “I’m going to go talk to Sin. She might know something.” Sara said. She was already walking towards the stairs. 

“I’ll go talk to Lance.” Olive declared. 

“I’m going to stay here. I’ll analyze the drug sample you gave to me last night. From there I might be able to figure out where they made this stuff and that means finding a base of operations. And I’ll call Laurel and John and bring them up to speed” Felicity stated. 

“What should I do?” Roy asked. 

“Do you still have contacts in the Glades?” Oliver wondered. Roy nodded. “Then talk to them. Let’s all report back here with what we have.”  
~~

“So, how is my favorite bisexual?” Sin asked happily as Sara climbed up the stairs of the Clocktower. Even though it was partially destroyed by Slade six months ago, Sin still liked to use it as a hideout. 

“How many bisexuals do you know?” Sara inquired. 

Sin counted on her fingers for a moment. “Three. Well four, one just doesn’t want to admit it.”

“Look, Sin, I came by because I have something kind of serious I want to ask you about.” Sara took a seat on a cinderblock that was next to where Sin was perched. 

“Okay, shoot.” 

“There’s a new gang out on the streets. They’re dealing a drug called Kingdom Come and are led by a guy called ‘The Warlord’. I was wondering if you knew anything about it.” Sara  
explained. 

Sin nodded and stood up. She paced across the floor a few times. “I don’t know anything. Not really. It’s all just gossip and rumors. But I hear people talking. They say that The Warlord wants to take over the city. He’s already got weapons and manpower, not to mention drugs and all that crap. Some say he’s even got some cops and judges in his pocket. But it’s all a bunch of rumors… I doubt it’s true.” 

“Sin. It is true. Last night I stopped a large drug deal by some of The Warlord’s men. All ten of the men arrested committed suicide to avoid interrogation. Whatever is happening, whatever they are planning, they are completely loyal to it.” Sara replied. 

“Holy crap.” Sin breathed. Fear rushed her body. “What are and your friends going to do?”

“What we always do. We’re going to stop him.” 

“How? You don’t even know who The Warlord is.” Sin asked. 

“No, we don’t. But we’re going to have you as our eyes and ears in the Glades. Here, take this.” Sara answered. She handed Sin a comm device she took from the Foundry. “It will patch  
you to our lair. Whenever you find something out, just press that green button there and it will patch you through. Most likely Felicity or I will answer it, but you might also get to talk to one  
of our other friends.” 

“You and your friends are trusting me to help you guys?” Sin was amazed. “Dude this is so cool! Do I get a nickname like you and the Arrow?” Sin reminded Sara of an excited little puppy. 

“Not yet” Sara smirked, “But maybe someday.”  
~~

“Sara, I think I misplaced that communication device I had been working on. You wouldn’t happen to know where it went, would you?” Felicity asked in a tone that indicated to Sara that she knew exactly where the device was.

No one else was in the Foundry except for the two women and Sara was grateful. If Oliver found out that Sara gave Sin that comm device, he would be furious. Sara sighed and told her girlfriend the truth. “Yes, I gave it to Sin. But I’m assuming you already knew that.” 

“You may be able to keep secrets, just not from me. I can tell when you sneak something. You glance at me like a two year old who got caught with his hand in the cookie jar.” Felicity said, turning her chair to face her girlfriend. 

“I do not! I-” Sara tried arguing but Felicity interrupted her. 

“I’m not mad, babe. I’m not. If you trust Sin, that’s good enough for me. But, it might not be good enough for Oliver. I’m not gonna tell him because that’s your responsibility. Just, next time you see Sin, give her this.” Felicity explained. The woman held out a key. Sara recognized it as a key to their apartment. “If we’re going to have her as an informant, we should at least give her a place to stay. Wait. You haven’t told her about Oliver being the Arrow? Have you?” 

“No, babe, Sin doesn’t know.” Sara chuckled softly. “I’ll tell Ollie soon, I promise. But for now I want to enjoy having the Foundry to myself with my beautiful girlfriend.” Sara said the last sentence so seductively that it made Felicity’s face immediately go red. 

“That’d be nice” Felicity said into Sara’s heated kiss.


	2. Nightmares and Family Affairs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sara has a nightmare and Team Arrow discusses bringing Thea back home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and enjoy!

A week had passed since Team Arrow discovered The Warlord and they had no leads. Sin hadn’t heard anything and Roy’s contacts were either unwilling to talk or had nothing to report. There had been no new activity by The Warlord or his men and the drug sample Felicity pulled had nothing they could use. Safe to say everyone was getting more than a little frustrated. Normally, by now, they would have at least something to go on. So far they had absolutely nothing. 

Diggle and Sara were sparring each other while Oliver and Roy practiced their archery skills. Felicity sat at her station and was scanning through the police files of the men who were arrested at the drug bust last week. She combed through the files already but perhaps she missed something. 

“Good morning, fellow super friends.” Laurel said, descending the staircase into the Foundry. She had just come from the DA’s office- her office- and was looking snazzy in her black pantsuit and high heels. 

“Hey, Laurel. What brings you to the Arrow Cave?” Felicity greeted. She scooted back her chair and cracked her knuckles. “Ow, not as badass as I thought that was gonna be” She mumbled to herself. 

“Don’t get excited, I don’t have any information on The Warlord. I just wanted to drop by to say hi and to see if you guys had found anything.” Laurel replied. Everyone had stopped whatever type of training they were doing. 

“Trust me, if we had anything, we would have notified you.” Oliver assured. 

Laurel nodded. “Does anyone have any other news to report? Diggle, how’s Lyla and the baby?” Laurel asked, albeit a bit aggressively. She was just desperate for something good to happen. All of them were, really. 

“Both of them are good. The baby is going to be here in a few weeks.” Diggle answered, a smile creeping onto his face. 

“Boy or girl?” Sara inclined. Since she was right next to the father-to-be she nudged him playfully. 

“Girl.” The man said. 

Felicity squealed despite herself. “Oh my god, I can just imagine you John with a little girl. Braiding her hair and tying her shoes for her and reading her bedtime stories. Ugh, I love it already.” Felicity rambled. 

Sara laughed, “Yup. Still cute.”  
~~

“Babe, you coming to bed anytime soon?” Sara called from their bedroom. Felicity had been driving herself nearly insane trying to find something on The Warlord. Mix that in with running a multibillion dollar company and that made for huge stressors on the woman. Sara was eager to find something on The Warlord too but they were doing everything they could. 

“Yes, I’m here, I’m sorry. I was just double checking the makeup of the drug to see if there was any way we could track it to some part of the city but there was nothing. Of course there was nothing that’s just our luck .And I know these guys haven’t killed anyone yet but it’s only a matter of time and I don’t want anyone to get hurt because I was unable to find things out soon enough-” Felicity’s babbling was growing incoherent and Sara grabbed her wrists gently and pulled her girlfriend in. 

“Lis, calm down. I know things may not look so good right now, but it’s only been a week. We are going to find The Warlord and we are going to stop him.” Sara reassured. Felicity took a deep breath and climbed into bed next to Sara.

“Since when did you become the optimistic one?” Felicity asked. 

“Since I finally had something to be optimistic about.” Sara answered without hesitation. 

“You know you’re becoming grosser and grosser, right?” Felicity said, curling into Sara’s side. 

Sara rested her chin on the top of Felicity’s head, sighed contently, and whispered “Trust me, I know.”  
~~  
There was gunfire. Everywhere. It surrounded her. The smoke from the battle choked her and caused tears to fill her eyes. Rain was pouring down on them, like the night on The Gambit. Only this time it was worse. Because this time Sara was responsible for the people around her dying and not mother nature. 

“Ta –er-al-Safar! Get on your feet! Ra’s al Ghul will not tolerate your incompetence!” One of the League members hissed. He threw her bow at her, which she had just dropped in the fight. “Finish the job before I have to report to Ra’s al Ghul that you were too weak to do so!” 

Sara nodded, grabbed her bow and knocked an arrow. She wasn’t a fan of the bow and arrow, she found it too complicated. But every League member must first train with the bow in order to hone their focus and skill. From there, they could begin training with a weapon of her choice. But for now, she was tasked with killing a drug lord and his family. This was going to be her first official kill for the League.

They had tracked the drug lord to a small safe house in the middle of a desert two hundred miles northwest of Nanda Parbat. Ra’s al Ghul had briefed them on this man and he said that the drug lord terrorized his village and was a player in the sex trafficking industry as well. Sara knew this guy was horrible and deserved justice but she wasn’t sure if his family deserved the same fate. However, she didn’t have much time to think about it. She stormed the inside of the safe house, easily knocking out the guards that rushed at her. 

She found the drug lord in his bedroom along with his wife and two daughters. She froze for a moment. This family too closely resembled the one she once had. The family that she missed with every fiber of her being. For a moment, she lowered her bow. The other League member screaming orders at her knocked her to her senses and she fired an arrow into the drug lord’s chest. He fell, dead, into a pool of his own blood. The three women screamed in terror and Sara wanted to do the same. Forcing her tears back, she fired three more times, the arrows slicing through their throats.

“Sara! Sara!” A voice yelled. It was familiar….  
~~  
“Sara! Sara!” Felicity heard Sara mumbling things in her sleep and felt her tossing and turning violently. Felicity was shaking Sara, trying desperately to wake Sara up. It had been months since Sara had a nightmare this bad, which isn’t a good sign. 

Sara bolted up, gasping for breath, her skin was slick with cold sweat and her heart was beating a mile a minute. For a second, she didn’t know where she was and there were tears running down her cheeks. Out of all the recurring nightmares she had, that one had to be her least favorite. Felicity gently cupped Sara’s face and turned her face towards her. “Sara, shhh. It’s me. I’m here and you’re right here with me. Whatever your nightmare is about, it’s over. You’re safe now.” Felicity comforted. Sara lunged at Felicity and hugged her tight, sobbing. 

“It’s okay, little bird. I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere, I promise.”  
~~

The two managed to fall back asleep a few hours later. Sara woke up again, at the crack of dawn, before Felicity was awake. Carefully, she untangled herself from Felicity and got out of bed. She took a hot shower and began making coffee and breakfast. She knew the scents of caffeine in a cup and omelets would rouse Felicity no problem. Besides, Felicity had been so stressed lately and hadn’t eaten properly, Sara wanted to make sure she had at least one decent meal this week. 

“Thanks for making breakfast.” Felicity mumbled in her sleepy, morning voice. She wrapped her arms around Sara from behind and pressed slow kisses to the back of Sara’s neck. 

“I’m sorry about last night. I-”

Felicity squeezed her girlfriend tightly but reassuringly. “Don’t apologize, it’s not your fault. Do you wanna talk about it? I know that’s not your thing, but trust me, talking does help.” 

“Not right now.” Sara shook her head. In the six months they had been dating, Sara had opened up more to Felicity about what happened to her in the six years she was gone. But there  
was still plenty of things she hadn’t told her yet. Felicity had been a really good sport about respecting Sara’s boundaries and hardly ever pushed Sara for information. Which is just one of the many things Sara loved about Felicity. 

“But sometime?” Felicity wondered.

“Sometime.” Sara echoed.  
~~

Later that night, at the Foundry, Sara and Felicity walked into Roy, Diggle, and Oliver all arguing with each other. Laurel was standing helpless on the sidelines. Nothing was getting too heated yet, though the tight look in Oliver’s face was a giveaway that things could turn pretty ugly very soon. 

“What’s going on?” Felicity asked, loud enough to disrupt the boys’ conversation.

“Oliver wants to bring Thea back home.” Diggle stated, seething with quiet rage. 

“Why is that such a bad idea?” Sara wondered.

“Don’t you think if Thea wanted to come home, she would have come by now?” Roy argued, looking angrily at Oliver. 

“I thought you loved my sister Roy!” Oliver questioned loudly.

Roy clenched his jaw but didn’t seem too afraid. “I do, Oliver. Look, she want space, so let’s give her space.” 

“I’m with Roy on this one. Bringing Thea home against her will isn’t a good idea, Ollie. Especially not with all this Warlord nonsense going on.” Sara said. 

“Right and I’m sure you know all about good ideas, Sara.” Oliver snapped. 

Sara stepped forward and Felicity grabbed Sara’s wrist. Sara was getting pissed off; Felicity recognized the fire in Sara’s blue eyes. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” 

“Don’t think that I didn’t know about the comm device you gave to Sin. I k now you trust her with your secret identity but do you really trust her with all of ours?” Oliver replied. 

Laurel was surprised, “You gave her a comm device? Why?” 

“Yes. Look, I trust Sin just as much as I trust any of you. I haven’t told her anything about any of your identities. And I won’t. I gave her the comm device because she can be our  
informant in the Glades.” Sara explained. 

“Roy is already our informant!” Oliver replied.

“Not really, Oliver. He’s been living with you in Queen Manor for the last six months. Whatever he had in the Glades, he’s losing it. But Sin is still very much there. And, if I remember  
correctly, Roy started out as a spy for you and he’s now your sidekick. So how is Sin any different? Because you’re not the one that chose her?” Sara shot back. 

Oliver’s back straightened, he shut his eyes, and took three long and deep breaths. “You’re right.” Everyone was shocked at Oliver’s admission. “I will give Sin a chance. I- I’m sorry I snapped at you Sara. I- I think I’m just stressed about Thea. She’s the only family I’ve got left and I haven’t talked to her in months.” 

“I forgive you, Ollie. I was getting around to telling you about the comm.” Sara replied. 

“Were you?” Felicity remarked, already typing away at the keyboard. 

Sara just rolled her eyes playfully. “I’ve been keeping tabs on Thea. If you want to go looking for her and try to bring her home, she’s in Corto Maltese. She’s been there for a few months. Or at least, that’s her last known location. But I’m assuming she’s still there, I mean, the place is absolutely gorgeous.” Felicity explained. 

“Felicity, Queen Consolidated still has that private jet, right?” Oliver asked.

“Yep. Please don’t damage it, I actually really like that jet.” She warned Oliver. He smiled.  
~~

“Do you think they’ll be able to bring her back?” Sara asked. She brought Felicity a cup of tea and the two were getting ready for a cuddly night in. 

“Maybe. Thea has been gone six months, so maybe that’s long enough for her. Losing a parent isn’t easy and she’s lost two.” Felicity stated. Carefully, she got under the blankets they had set up on the couch and looked for the remote. 

Sara maneuvered under the blankets as well, careful not to spill her hot chocolate. “I wonder if he’s going to tell her about him being the Arrow.” 

“There’s always room for more in the Arrow Cave in my opinion.” Felicity answered.

“Yeah, well that’s not the case according to Oliver.” The two shared a laugh. 

Whatever happened, whether Thea became Team Arrow’s newest member or whether Sin is made a part of the team, Sara knew one thing: everything will be a whole lot better because Felicity was by her side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you guys think? If you have suggestions/comments, let me know!


	3. Sisterly Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! The next couple chapters are going to be a bit slow-ish, so I can set things up for some action. A little bit of a heads up, this chapter does involve alcohol abuse, so just be warned.*

Sara loved this feeling. The feeling she got whenever she would make a more daring jump from one rooftop to another and she was suspended in the air for more than a few seconds. She loved how the wind whistled in her ears and that certain feeling of weightlessness. Plus, the little burst of adrenaline she would get when she landed wasn’t bad either.

                Oliver had taken Roy, Diggle, and his company’s jet to Corto Maltese a few days ago to go and try to bring Thea back to Starling City. Which meant Laurel, Sara, and Felicity were left to keep guard over the city while the boys were gone. This was also the first time Laurel would be out in the field on her own. She’s been on a few test runs, though those were with Sara or Oliver or even Roy by her side. And that was before this Warlord threat.

                “How you doing, sis?” Sara asked into her comm. She perched on top of a building that was a few stories high, watching the street below.

                “About the same as when you asked ten minutes ago.” Laurel retorted, fiddling with a buckle of her black and grey uniform. She had designed it to resemble Sara’s uniform while also adding her own personal touch. Oliver and Sara made it no secret that they thought it looked a bit too much like it was from a comic book and not enough like it could be practical. But she had had no problems so far, so the two had somewhat held there tongues.

                Sara jumped down from the building and began walking along the street. “Can you blame me for being worried?”

                “Actually, I can. But I’m not going to hold it against you. At least not this time.” Laurel replied, a bit mischievously.

                “Ugh, sisters are so weird.” Felicity said. While the two were out in the field, she assumed her normal position of tech girl. Though, that job was made a lot less fun when it was a night that was as slow as this one.

~~

                The night dragged on pretty slowly. Laurel knew that she should take that as a good sign. Or perhaps, she shouldn’t. With this Warlord character rising up in the city, the longer he went without making a move meant the longer he had to build up his forces. Who knew how much he already had in terms of manpower and supplies? Laurel tried not to dwell on it because she was starting to get goosebumps just thinking about it.

                “Hey! Get off!” A female voice sounded from below. Laurel looked down from the one-story building she was currently on top of. Sure enough, a young woman was having her personal space invaded by some creep.

                “Finally, some action.” Laurel muttered to herself before hopping down to the pavement.

                She approached the guy from behind, grabbed his shoulders, and yanked him backwards. He absolutely reeked of alcohol. Upon seeing Laurel’s masked face the guy whipped into action. He tried to hook punch her but she blocked it easily and kneed him in the groin. This caused him to double over and sucker punched him in the stomach a few times before throwing him to the ground.

                Laurel turned to see if the woman needed help but she was out of sight. When Laurel looked back to cuff the creep, he was gone too. “What the hell.” Laurel breathed, confused out of her mind. There could have been no way a guy drunk off his ass could have possibly stumbled away without her noticing in the span of two seconds.

~~

                After that encounter, Laurel hurried back to the Foundry. Besides, there was only an hour or so left until dawn so her shift was pretty much over. Sara was already back and had removed her mask and wig and she was currently giving Felicity a massage in her shoulders. Laurel smiled softly to herself, relieved that her sister had found someone to love that wasn’t an assassin and who accepted Sara for the woman she was.

                “Did you have a good patrol, sis?” Sara wondered aloud, not diverting her attention from the massage she was giving her girlfriend.

                As Laurel was unzipping her suit and changing into her sweater and jeans, she explained what happened with her vanishing man. Felicity had Sara had both turned to face Laurel and Sara had ceased her massage (much to the secret displeasure of Felicity. Sara really did have magic fingers. In more way than one, too.) The girlfriends exchanged a look that Laurel couldn’t decipher.

                “There could be a possibility he was on that Kingdom Come drug that the Warlord is starting to distribute. When I ran through the chemical makeup of the drug, it contained high amounts of methamphetamine, amphetamine, and xanthine which increase speed and alertness. Maybe he’s addicted to the stuff.” Felicity explained. “Still, I don’t know if it could give someone enough speed and stealth to do what you said he did. I mean, you never know in this city, but still.”

                “Does Sin know of where the Warlord is distributing this stuff? Or how?” Laurel asked. The drug deal that Sara stopped about a week and a half ago had been the first and only time they encountered the drug.

                Sara shook her head. “I already asked her. She says she doesn’t know but she did say she’ll keep an eye out.” Sara answered. Laurel nodded.

                “Alright. I’m gonna head home. See you lovebirds later.” Laurel said. Once she grabbed her bag and slipped her sneakers back on, she headed out of the Foundry and Sara and Felicity said goodbye.

                After she was gone, Felicity began shutting down her computers. “We should probably get going too. You look like you could you use a good nap, Miss Lance.” Felicity said.

                “Is that you’re way of saying I look like shit?” Sara suggested with a wiggle of her eyebrow.

                “No, it’s my way of saying I wanna get home, put on my comfy pajamas and snuggle with you until I fall asleep.” Felicity replied.

                “Well, we might be able to arrange that Miss Smoak.” Sara answered, pulling Felicity in for a kiss.

~~

                The two women were not alone when they got home. The door was unlocked and the inside was slightly trashed. There was a mess in the kitchen and the living room looked like a tornado had been through. Sara held her arm out, blocking Felicity from taking another step. She looked into Felicity’s eyes with an expression that said ‘Wait here’. She then crept through the front of the house only to find a passed out Sin snoozing away on floor next to the couch.

                Sin was clutching a bottle of vodka in her hands and was snoring softly. There was a bit of vomit around her mouth. Felicity ignored her girlfriend’s warnings and went to the kitchen to investigate further. There were two bottles of alcohol: one of tequila, which was empty and another of rum, which had been opened but was still pretty full. Felicity took the liberty of dumping the remaining contents down the drain, then dropping the bottles in the trash.

                Sara pried the bottle from Sin’s fingers, gently picked the girl up, and placed her on the couch. She pulled a blanket over Sin and propped her head up on a pillow. Once that was done, she grabbed the bottle that was in Sin’s hands and placed it in the trash can in the kitchen.

                “You know, when I gave her a key to my apartment and said she could crash here, this isn’t exactly what I had in mind.” Felicity whispered, a bit harshly.

                “I know, it’s just sometimes she’s not in a good headspace and she remedies that by drinking alcohol.” Sara mumbled.

                “This isn’t what I’d call a ‘remedy’, Sara.” Felicity answered, voice growing louder.

                Sara motioned to keep it down, though she doubted even a semi-truck driving through the living room could wake Sin up now. “Then what do you call a remedy? Wearing a mask and going out almost every night to fight bad guys? Believe me, I know the alcohol doesn’t help to dull the pain, not really. But neither does what we do.” Sara replied.

                “What is Sin trying to remedy though? I know she grew up in the Glades but is there something particularly horrible that happened to her?” Felicity asked.

                Something dawned on Sara. “Oh shit.” She whispered to herself. She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. “Her dad died around this time of year and this period is always especially rough for her because of it. God damn it! I should have known this!” Sara’s anger was rising. But she wasn’t angry at Felicity or at Sin. No. She was angry at herself and how she didn’t realize this was a trying time for her little sister.

                Felicity shook her head and began singing softly. Slowly, she closed the gap between her and Sara and wrapped her girlfriend in a hug, pressing soft kisses to Sara’s neck and jaw. Sara didn’t recognize the words Felicity was singing, but she knew the language was Hebrew. A part of Sara wondered if her parents had sung such songs to Felicity whenever she was distressed. After Felicity finished her song, the two stood there, locked comfortably in each other’s arms.

                “My little bird, this isn’t your fault. Sin will most likely be up in a few hours and we’ll talk with her then. But for now, we are going to put on our pajamas and go to bed. Come on.” Felicity said quietly. Sara nodded and let Felicity lead her to their bedroom.

~~

                It was honestly a miracle that Sin didn’t wake up in the middle of the night to throw up. Everyone was grateful for that. Sara had only slept a few hours before she woke up and couldn’t go back to bed. Felicity was still fast asleep on the other side of the bed, so Sara made sure to get up quietly to avoid waking her. A grumpy Felicity was not a Felicity one would want to be around.

                Sin was still asleep too. Though sometime during the night the girl had kicked off the blanket and removed her boots. As silently as possible, Sara cleaned up the mess that Sin had made the night before and got some pain killers and a glass of water for Sin. She herself has had her fair share of hangovers, so she knew the best ways to deal with them. By the looks of all the alcohol Sin had, the girl would need all the help she could get. Sara also brewed some coffee. Felicity needed to go to work today and it appeared Sara would be watching Sin today.

                The girl was snoring, quite loudly, so Sara- with her mug of coffee now in hand- sat in the reclining chair that was a few feet from the couch and waited for Sin and Felicity to wake up.

~~

                Not long after Felicity went to work, Sin woke up like she normally did after a hard night of drinking. With a jolting headache that felt like it was splitting her skull in half. She immediately downed the painkillers Sara handed to her and gulped the entire glass of water in one go.

                Wiping the stray bits of water from the corner of her mouth, Sin muttered a “Thank you.”

                “Why were you drinking so much last night?” Sara questioned. There would be no wasting time with pleasantries and small talk. Not today.

                Sin sighed, sat up on the couch, and looked up at her mentor guiltily. “It’s not a big deal.” The girl mumbled.

                A spark of anger flashed through Sara. “Sin. It _is_ a big deal. I gave you the key so you could have a safe place to sleep. Not so you could show up drunk and make a mess of the place. I want to be able to rely on you and I want the Arrow to be able to rely on you too. But we can’t if you’re getting drunk like this. Sin, I want to help you. I know your dad died around this time but that doesn’t mean you just drink your feelings away!” Sara ranted.

                The girl hung her head. She felt guilty. She did. The last thing she wanted was to be someone that Sara couldn’t rely on. And she had been trusted with an important task- a task that could prove her as worthy of being an official part of the Arrow and his team. But, a part of her was angry too. And she didn’t really know why. “Sara, I’m sorry” was all Sin could manage to say.

                “I don’t need your apology, Sin. I want your answers. Please. I know your dad died but is there anything else you’re trying to drown in booze?”

                Sin nodded. “Yeah. Yeah… it’s partly my dad. But… but it’s also everything else that has been going on too, I guess. I mean, Max was as close to a best friend as you could get in the Glades and he was killed by that crazy guy in that mask. And then there’s the whole Warlord thing. He hasn’t been active- not that I can see- but I…. I’m just so scared, Sara. I’ve lost my mom and my dad and my friend. I almost lost you to the League and I’m so tired of all the people I care about leaving me that the only way to really forget about the pain is to drink. Look, I know it’s not healthy at all, but it’s the way that I know how to deal with things.” Sin rambled. She would choke up anytime she mentioned her dad. Sara recognized that faraway look in the girl’s eyes. The kind of look that only comes from a distant pain that still hurts like hell.

                Sara looked at the girl in front of her. Sin’s hair was a mess, lacking its normal greased neatness. Her clothes were rumpled and dirty. The girl looked too thin. Not like she was starving, but she defiantly wasn’t getting enough to eat either. And she was right: the Warlord was a growing threat.

                “Sin. I know what you’re feeling. Believe me, I do. Which is why I’m going to talk to Felicity about this… but I was thinking you could stay here full time. I could help you with your training and we can help you work though this rough patch you’re in. And with the Warlord becoming more and more of a danger, I want to make sure your safe.” Sara explained.

                The smile on Sin’s face was so bright it could put the sun to shame. “Wait, are you for serious?” Sin asked.

                “Of course I am.” Sara chuckled.

                Sin launched off the couch and attacked Sara with a hug. “Thank you thank you thank you, that’d be amazing!”

                “Don’t get too ahead of yourself, kid. I still have to ask Felicity.” Sara cautioned.

                “Dude, you do realize that Felicity would do anything for you right?” Sin rebutted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what did you guys think? I’ll try to have the next chapter up in a few days or so, but I have a lot of family stuff going on this weekend, so I don’t know if that will happen or not. If you have any suggestions/ comments, please leave them! Thank you for reading and I hope y’all have a great day!*


	4. Three Women and a Body

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity lays down some ground rules for Sin to follow while she is living with them and a body is discovered.

Felicity came home that night to see Sara and Sin in the middle of the living room, doing some basic training. The furniture had been pushed to the sides and the two were going through a series of blocks. Sin looked like she had been working on it for a while because she went through the techniques pretty fluidly. Sara motioned for Sin to stop and then went to hug her girlfriend. The two kissed and Sin just stood there awkwardly.

                “Hey, Sin. When was the last time you took a shower?” Sara asked. There was something about the way she asked it that made both Sin and Felicity a bit suspicious.

                “Uh, about a week ago. Why?” Sin replied.

                “Go on and take a shower. I need to talk to Felicity about something.” Sara answered. Sin knew what Sara was referencing, nodded, and walked down the hallway, towards the guest bathroom.

                “What’s going on?” Felicity asked, putting her stuff down on the kitchen table. Sara was in the process of making a stew for dinner- it was one of Felicity’s favorite dishes.

                “I need to ask you something.”

                “What?” Now Felicity was really confused.

                “I want to know if it would be alright with you if Sin stayed with us for the time being.” Sara replied nervously.          

                Felicity sat down at one of the chairs at the kitchen table and thought for a long moment. Her lips moved, as if she was talking to herself in a way only she could hear. From all the time Sara had spent with the woman in the last year and a half of knowing her, Sara knew Felicity was running through whether or not it would be a good idea to let the girl live with them. Letting Sin crash on her couch every so often was one thing. But having the girl live with them was another thing entirely. And Felicity let Sara know this.

                “Lis, I know. I know it’s a big deal, but it’s not like Sin is a small child that we have to constantly watch. She’s an eighteen year old woman and she can take care of herself. She just needs a place to stay and a bit of stability in her life.” Sara argued.

                Felicity sighed. “Okay. But there are going to be ground rules. I’ll lay them out while we’re eating dinner.” Felicity finally caved in. There were more pros than cons to this situation: they could better protect Sin, it would be far easier to keep in contact with the girl if they were sleeping under the same roof, and Sara could also train the girl easier.

                Sara’s smile was the widest and brightest Felicity had seen in a while. In a burst of sudden energy, she wrapped Felicity in a big hug. “Thank you, Lis. Thank you.”

~~

                At dinner, Felicity was laying out the rules to Sin. “First off, no more drinking. Nada. I’m not much of a fan of alcohol, especially not when a teenager is drinking it in my house. Second, if you’re not out on Team Arrow business, then I want you home by 11. No exceptions. We all know how dangerous this city can be so I want you home safe. Third, we’re going to take you shopping. I know you like your leather jacket, but you need some other clothes in your wardrobe. And fourthly, you’re going to have to shower on a much more regular basis than once a week. I know I’m not as hip as I used to be, but I doubt not showering is some new cool thing to do. If you follow those rules, then you can stay.” Felicity explained.

                Sin had been listening intently the whole time. “Deal. But you don’t need to spend any money on me, I’ve got clothes.”

                “Sin, trust me, arguing with Felicity is pointless.” Sara interjected.

                Felicity tilted her heads towards Sara in agreement. Sin just nodded accepting the kindness of the two women. “Thank you. I’m sorry about what happened last night with me getting drunk and everything, but I promise I won’t let you guys down.” Sin amended.

~~

                The three made plans to go shopping the next afternoon. In the meantime, Sara and Felicity headed to the Foundry and Sin headed out to the Glades to do some scouting. Felicity told Sin that since she was out on Team Arrow business the girl better be back inside the house at one in the morning at the latest, unless something super important came up. Sin promised she would be.

                At the Foundry, Laurel was already there, practicing on one other practice dummies. She must have been there for a while because she was covered in sweat. Though, upon seeing her sister and her sister’s girlfriend, she decided to take a break.

                “Hey lovebirds, what’s new?” Laurel asked, wiping the sweat off her face with a small towel.

                “I think we basically adopted an eighteen year old street rat. So I guess nothing out of the ordinary.” Felicity answered, already losing herself in her computers and checking any alerts that may have popped up.

                “What?” Laurel said, confused.

                “She’s talking about Sin. Because of the Warlord and everything going on, we’ve decided to let her live with us for the time being.” Sara clarified.

                “You guys spend most of your time away from home. Actually, you spend most of your time in the Foundry. How are you going to actually care for her?” Laurel asked.

                “We’ll figure it out. Besides, she’s probably going to spend most of her days in the Glades trying to get information for us or at home with me so I can train her.” Sara answered.

                “Are you going to introduce her to the Foundry at some point?” Laurel wondered.

                “Most likely. Whether Ollie likes it or not, she’s probably going to become an official member at some point. Roy started out the same way and look where he is now. Sin has just as much potential as Roy has and just as much heart. From the basic training I’ve given her, I can tell there is a fighter in her that could help this city.” Sara explained.

                Laurel nodded respectfully. Through everything, Laurel trusted Sara’s judgement. She knew what she was doing. Sin already worked with Roy, Thea, and Laurel herself to help solve Max’s murder several months ago. And the girl proved herself to be fairly capable then. Besides, this city could use more people willing to protect it. No matter how much Oliver argued against that statement.

~~

                It had been a few hours since Sara and Laurel had suited up and headed out to patrol the city when she got a call from Sin.

                “Uhhh, Felicity? You there?” Sin asked into the comm.

                “Yes, I’m here. What is it?”

                “I was walking over to an old friend of mine’s house to see if he knew what was up with the Warlord and I found a body. He’s definatly dead but I don’t see anything that could have killed him. I mean, there’s no gunshot wounds or anything. What should I do?” Sin explained with a shaky voice. She decided to leave out the part where she vomited after seeing the body. Sin has seen a few dead bodies in her lifetime and each time she’s puked. Good thing she wasn’t a mortician or anything.

                “Just stay there, I’m triangulating yours signal. Sara and La- another member of the team will be there in about ten minutes. Just hang tight.” Felicity mentally kicked herself for almost giving away Laurel’s identity.

                “Okay, okay, just tell them to hurry, please. It’s kinda creepy being next to this dead guy.”

~~

                Sure enough, ten minutes later, Sara and laurel showed up on scene. Sin recognized Sara in her Canary garb but the taller woman next to her she didn’t know, but something felt weirdly familiar about her. While Sara talked to Sin, Laurel investigated the body.

                “Oh my god.” Laurel whispered.

                “What is it?” Sin asked, diverting her attention away from Sara.

                “This is the guy that disappeared on me a few nights ago. The one that attacked that woman.” Laurel said. Laurel didn’t do anything to try and disguise her voice and there’s only so much that a wig and a mask can do.

                Despite the situation and the dead body only a few feet away, Sin couldn’t help but say: “Wait, you’re Laurel Lance aren’t you? You helped Thea and Roy and me solve Max’s murder.” A smile spread across Sin’s face, “Dude I didn’t know you were working with the Arrow too! Holy crap this is awesome!”

                “Sin. I appreciate your enthusiasm over my identity but we are kind of standing over a dead body. So could you stay focused?” Laurel snapped.

                “Right, sorry. My bad. You’re right.” Sin stammered.

                Sara took some pictures of the body using a special device that Felicity had developed. It kind of resembled a cell phone and could take photos, blood samples (though the samples were only stored so they could be later investigated at the Foundry) and Felicity could send files of information directly from her computer to the device. “Okay, Lis you have some pictures coming your way.” Sara said into her comm.

                “Got ‘em. I’ll run facial recognition, in the meantime, take a blood sample just in case. I’ll alert your dad of the body.” Felicity replied on the opposite end.

                “Okay. C’mon, let’s get out of here.” Sara told Laurel and Sin.

~~

                The three ended up on top of a small building and Sin told them everything she could about the body. Which is basically exactly what she told Felicity. In short: not much.

                “We’ll get the information back to Felicity and you are going to go back home. There’s some leftovers in the fridge and Felicity and I will probably be there in a few hours. If you need anything, call us.” Sara said. With that, Sin hopped down to the fire escape on the side of the building and began climbing down. Sara watched as Sin made her way down to the street and continued to watch until the girl was out of sight.

                “Why are you staring at me?” Laurel questioned, still looking in the area that Sin just disappeared into.

                “It’s good to see you like this.” Was all Laurel said.

                “Like what?”

                “Having people, other than your family, that you’re willing to watch out for.”

                “Sin is my family too.” Sara replied in a firm, yet quiet, tone.

~~

                When the sisters returned to the Foundry, Felicity was waiting for them with the results from the Facial Recognition.

                “The man’s name was Brody Montgomery. He’s lived in the Glades his whole life and he was a low level criminal with multiple charges for drug possession and aggravated assault.” Felicity explained. Sara handed her the blood sample without a word.

                “Does he have any family or friends we could talk to see if he fell victim to the Warlord?” Laurel asked.

                “His parents and sister were killed in the earthquake that leveled the Glades. Even if he did have friends, what would you say to them? ‘Hey, Starling City Vigilante here?’” Felicity answered.

                “I would go as a DA not a vigilante.” Laurel retorted.

                “He might. We’ll ask Sin about it tomorrow.” Sara said.  

                “Remember, we’re taking her shopping tomorrow. So don’t go too crazy with bringing our night job into the daytime.” Felicity warned.

                “Don’t worry, babe. I won’t.”

                The three left the Foundry not too long after that. Felicity ran the blood sample and would check it whenever the returned to the Foundry the next day. Laurel said she’d look up Brody Montgomery on her own time and she if she could pull any other information on him that they could use.

~~

                Sara and Felicity were cuddled together in bed. Felicity was tracing patterns on Sara’s toned stomach while Sara hummed contently.

                “Remember that nightmare I had a few days ago?” Sara blurted.

                Felicity propped herself up, brow furrowing. “Yes, I remember. Why?”

                “It was about my first official assignment for the League. Myself and a few other members were ordered to track down a drug lord and kill him and his family. At that point I hadn’t killed anyone and I was very hesitant to kill his whole family. When I got there, I was the one who Ra’s al Ghul wanted to carry out the murders. I realize now he was testing me. Because the drug lord had a wife and two daughters that were about my age at the time. It was Ra’s’ way of forcing me to sever the ties with the girl that I was. It was his way of making me into a weapon that he could use at his disposal. I didn’t want to the kill the women, but I knew if I didn’t, I would be tortured to death. So I raised my bow and I shot them. They were killed almost instantly. Once I got back to Nanda Parbat and I was finally alone, I cried until dawn. But I realized I wasn’t crying for the family I had just killed. I was crying because in that moment I was no longer my parent’s daughter. I was now something unforgivable… I was a killer. A monster.” It took Sara a long time to explain her nightmare. Randomly she would choke on her words and have to stop for several moments to compose herself.

                But Felicity waited and listened to what Sara had to say. Of course, Felicity’s own eyes filled with tears as her girlfriend went on and some made their way down her cheeks.

                “Sara, you are not unforgivable.” That was all Felicity could manage to say.

                “How can you say that?”

                “Because I forgive you.”

                “Why?” Sara was choking back tears; her voice was tight with pain.

                “Because, unlike the League, you feel remorse for all the bad things you have done. I can see it in your eyes. Every time I look in them I see a lot of light, but I also see a lot of pain. Your soul and heart are heavy with all the burdens you carry.” Felicity replied, more tears streaking down her face.

                “But I’ve done so many horrible things, Lis! I’ve hurt and killed so many people just so _I_ could survive!” Sara argued. Tears were running down her face too.

                “Yes, you have done some pretty horrible things, I’m not going to lie to you about that. But you are not the bad things you have done, Sara. You are the good things that you do.” Felicity stated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what did you guys think? If you have any comments/suggestions, please let me know! I hope all of you have a great day and thank you for reading!


	5. Homecoming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thea returns from her six months away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I’m sorry this chapter took me longer than I wanted too. But school has been kicking my butt. I’m not sure when the next chapter will be up, but hopefully it’ll be soon-ish. Thank you for reading and enjoy!

“Sin, you can’t buy five of the same shirt. Especially since they look like the shirt you have on.” Felicity face palmed herself. Sara, Sin, and herself had been shopping for barely an hour and yet they’ve already had this disagreement multiple times.

“Why not? Is there some unwritten law that I don’t know about?” Sin questioned, holding up the shirts to inspect them. 

“Remember what I said about arguing with Felicity?” Sara asked nonchalantly from a few feet away, only half paying attention to Sin and Felicity. She was too busy looking through a rack of clothes looking for something that Sin might like. 

“Yeah. But do you remember the saying ‘stick with what you know?’” Sin shot back at her mentor.

“Also, remember who is paying this bill.” Felicity interjected. Sin straightened her back a bit. 

“Okay, good point.” Sin replied, putting the shirts back and continuing her search.

While Sin wasn’t paying attention, Sara and Felicity smirked at each other. Neither of them really knew what the smirk meant, but it seemed appropriate for some reason.   
~~  
Three hours, five stores, and ten articles of clothing later, the three returned back to the house. Sara and Felicity had told Sin put her new clothes in the guest bedroom- which is now her bedroom. Over the next few weeks, they would clean the room up so it can be more comfortable for Sin. Though, Sara and Felicity had already slipped a little surprise into the dresser that Sin would no doubt find very shortly. 

Sara began making some tea and Felicity took a seat on the couch and began going through some emails on her tablet. She was going in later today but these emails have been unread for over a week. Halfway through an email, she heard Sin shriek.

The two made their way to Sin’s room and sure enough the girl had found their surprise: a brand new phone, with several contacts already programmed in. “Dudes, you didn’t! This is awesome! Thank you guys!” Sin exclaimed. Never in her life had she owned a phone- even when her dad was alive she was still too young for one. Since then, she had had higher priories than buying a phone. 

Sin launched herself into Sara’s arms, then Felicity’s, giving them the huge hugs that only Sin could give.   
~~  
Later that night, Sara headed to the Foundry, where she would meet Felicity and Laurel. The boys had called earlier that day and said they would be home the next day, with Thea in tow. Sara told Sin to stay in for the night and to practice the techniques that she had shown her earlier in the day while Felicity was at work. Sin was disappointed that she had to stay in tonight, but she decided to not argue. Not this time at least. 

Sara was the first and only one so far in the Foundry. A part of her wanted to get some sort of workout in before she went out patrol tonight, but when she saw the blood test was done, she decided to look the results of it instead. So she took the papers, sat down in Felicity’s chair, and leafed through the results. It didn’t take long at all to see that this guy was definitely overdosing on some sort of drug. When she double checked it with the chemical makeup of the new Kingdom Come drug, Sara quickly pulled out her phone and dialed Felicity’s number.

“Babe, what is it?” Felicity knew something was up since Sara knew not to call Felicity while she was at work. 

“I’m at the Foundry and I was looking at the results of the blood test you ran last night. Brody Montgomery was taking the Kingdom Come drug. But the weird thing is, it doesn’t look like he overdosed on it.” Sara said, looking over the results again to make sure what she was seeing was accurate.

“What do you mean? If he hasn’t overdosed then how did he die? There was no other trauma on the body, right?” Felicity asked, her voice was growing quieter and more hushed. There was probably people giving her weird looks. 

“I don’t know-” Sara stopped midsentence, realization washing over her. “Shit. Kingdom Come is a way of saying the next world- the afterlife. What if dying isn’t a side effect but the purpose?” 

Felicity almost dropped her phone. “Okay, let’s say you’re right, why would the Warlord want to distribute a drug that will just kill people? Eventually his market will run out and he won’t be able to make any more money.” Felicity replied. 

“I know. But maybe making money isn’t his goal. It’s been my experience that some people just want to watch the world burn.” Sara answered.   
~~  
Sara suited up not long after she hung up with Felicity. It had been too long since she had some good action and she was scouring the streets, desperate to let off some steam. Lucky for her, she saw her chance not even twenty minutes into her patrol.

Six guys, who all looked to be a part of a gang, were roughing up two teenagers. Sara leaped into action, wielding her bo-staff with a fury she hadn’t had in a while. Within moments, two guys were already on the ground and the rest had scattered- but not before Sara gave them some parting gifts (such as some lovely bruises and sprained bones).

The teenagers were injured, but not badly. One had a black eye and his nose was bleeding, while the other was cradling his left hand and there were bruises on his cheeks. 

“Do you need me to call an ambulance?” Sara asked the two. 

They shook their heads. “Thank you” One of them said, bowing his head, “Thank you for saving us.”

“Did you know why those men wanted to hurt you?”

Even though they shook their heads, Sara suspected they knew exactly why the men attacked them. Though, she decided to not pressure them. The two looked young and they looked scared. “There’s a clinic on 16th street. They can clean you up and house you for the night if you don’t have anywhere else to go.” Sara suggested before disappearing into the night.  
~~  
“So how was it? Did you nail a lot of bad guys?” Sin wondered as Sara and Felicity walked through the door. The two women only looked moderately exhausted, considering all the recent events. 

Sara chuckled out a “No” as she looked through the contents of the fridge. Felicity went to her room to change into some pajamas. 

Sin’s shoulders sagged in disappointment. This was often how Sara was greeted in the Clock tower when she would come back form long nights of pummeling guys. At first, Sara found it kind of annoying, to be honest. But now she found it endearing: it showed how much innocence the girl still had. 

“Anything new with the Warlord?” Sin asked, hopping up to sit on the counter. Felicity entered the kitchen, putting up her hair in a messy bun and Sara stopped her search for food in the fridge. She gave Felicity a questioning look and Felicity nodded in response. It still amazed Sion how the two could have conversations without a single word ever being spoken. 

“The drug that he’s been making, the Kingdom Come drug… we think its purpose may be to kill people.” Sara replied cautiously.

Sin cocked her head, “Aren’t most drugs going to kill someone sooner or later?” 

“Yeah, most of the time, yes. But this drug is different. I spent the entire night looking over the drug make up and comparing it to Brody Montgomery’s death. Everything about the drug seemed designed to kill someone after they only have a few doses. It’s super addicting and it can kill someone in less than two weeks, at least in Brody’s case.” Felicity explained. 

The three went silent for a while. There was this uncomfortable energy in the room and Sin was squirming just thinking about it all. “So, do you guys have any happy news to report? Or is it all death and destruction?” Sin asked.

“Thea’s coming home tomorrow.” Sara answered. 

“Really! Dude that’s sick!” Sin responded. Thea was the closest female friend Sin has had in a really long time and she was upset when the girl just left. “Why now though? I mean, she’s been gone six months, so why is now a good time to come home?” 

“Thea, I think, just had a lot going on her life and she just wanted some time to get away from it all and to breathe. Oliver respected that, but he decided to track her down and to get her to come home.” Sara answered honestly. 

Sin nodded, understanding that need to get away. Sin herself never could just drop everything and leave like Thea could- mostly because she didn’t have any money or resources to do so. Also there was something tethering her to Starling City and Sin couldn’t bear to just leave what little she did have behind. 

“Yeah, don’t tell anyone, but I think Oliver was planning on having a little welcome back party at Queen Manor was Thea gets home. And I think Thea wouldn’t mind seeing you.” Felicity said.   
~~

As always, Felicity was right. Oliver called them all over to Queen Manor the day Thea returned home for a small get together. The house was still mostly empty of furniture and if it wasn’t for the lights on, it would have looked abandoned. Though, something about the essence of the manor still seemed homey. Like no matter what, this place would always be a home. 

The three women entered the Manor, where the rest of Team Arrow as well as Lyla and Thea were already assembled in the kitchen and having a good time. Lyla was sitting down at the table and Thea rubbing Lyla’s pregnant belly. Oliver and Diggle were at the edge of the counter, about ten feet away from Thea and Lyla. Roy and Laurel were on the opposite end of the room. No doubt, Thea being back after breaking up with Roy is awkward for the both of them. In spite of that, though, everyone seemed to be in good spirits. 

Thea noticed Sin, Sara, and Felicity and went to greet them. “Hey, I’m glad to see the Smoaking Canary ship is still afloat.” Thea said to Sara and Felicity. The three laughed. Thea then hugged Sin and greeted her as well. “And I hope you’re not getting in too much trouble, Sin.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that. I’m now living with these two lovebirds, so they make sure to keep me on a leash.” Sin replied with a grin. 

“Really? Sin that’s great! I’m gone six months and everyone seems to magically get their shit together.” Thea replies. 

Diggle gives a snort, “Trust me, Thea. It’s not magic, it’s Felicity.” Everyone else expresses their agreement in various ways: laughs, nods, and head tilts. Felicity blushes at the compliment and Sara nudges her lovingly. 

“So, have you found a place to stay?” Felicity asked. 

“I’m going to move back into my old apartment” Thea answered. 

“Why don’t you move into Queen Manor? There’s plenty of room.” Oliver questioned. By the tone in his voice, he has suggested this before.

“Because I’m not a Queen, Ollie. Not really. Besides I’m almost twenty and I should be living on my own anyways. And I’m going to reopen Verdant so I’ll be able to pay for the loft without having to rely on any Queen money.” Thea explained, an angry undertone in her voice. 

Oliver opened his mouth to argue more, but Diggle put a hand on his shoulder and looked at him in a way that told him to back off. Which, Oliver did. He nodded respectfully and crossed his arms. Thea seemed proud at whatever feat she had just accomplished for she smiled triumphantly.

“Speaking of re-opening Verdant, I’m going to need bartenders. Sin and Roy you’re both welcome to come and work for me. And Sara, I’d like you to manage the bar, if you’re up to it.” Thea offered. 

“I’m in.” Roy said. He knew that this could hurt whatever chance that he had with Thea at reforming their relationship. But he was willing to take his chances if it meant getting to spend time with Thea. He also justified his answer in his mind by reassuring himself that if Thea really thought it wasn’t a good idea, she wouldn’t have made an offer. 

“Same. Count me in!” Sin exclaimed. She hit her open hand with her fist, ready to tackle this new challenge. Plus, having a job means she can contribute more to Felicity and Sara. She’s been feeling like a freeloader. 

“I’ve never managed a bar before, Thea. I’m not sure I’m the woman for the job.” Sara argued.

“You survived six years away from home. I’m sure you can handle managing bar. Just give it a shot. If you don’t like it after a month, you can just be a bartender if you want.” 

Sara mulled it over for a second. If she didn’t take the job, then it wouldn’t provide a cover for why she was going in and out to get to the Foundry. It would also give her something to get her mind off the vigilante gig. So she said yes to Thea’s offer. 

The rest of the party went over well. There was somewhat of tension between Thea and Oliver, and a different kind of tension between Thea and Roy, but everyone did their best to ignore it. Thea told them little things about her time in Corto Maltese, like how pretty it was there and her job as a waitress. Of course, she left out the part about training with Malcom, but that was to be expected. 

All in all it was a pretty good party and no one would deny that it wasn’t good to see Thea again. Felicity, Sara, and Sin were sad that they had to leave, but Felicity did have work the next morning at it was getting late.

They hugged Thea goodbye after exchanging phone numbers, so Thea could update them on the club and such. She wanted to have it open by the end of the month, which was only two weeks away. 

“See you later, speedy.” Sara teased, still hugging the girl.

“Ugh, I’m not a kid anymore. You don’t have to call me that.” Thea said in a half amused tone. 

“You’ll always be a kid to us.” Felicity answered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what did you guys think? If you have any suggestions please let me know! Thank you for reading and have a great day!


	6. Suicide Pills and Baby Thrills

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay on the chapter, guys. Life has just been really busy for me and I haven’t had that much time to write. But here’s the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoy!

“Canary! On your left!” Oliver yelled at Laurel. But, both Sara and Laurel thought the warning was directed at Sara, which caused Laurel to get smacked in the side of the head with a club- thanks to one of Warlord’s foot soldiers. She fell to the ground, blackness swirling in her field of vision and a thumping pain cascading over the back of her head.  
Sara quickly took care of the guy by sweeping him off his feet with her staff and then hitting him in his temple. She went to make sure Laurel was okay and Oliver muttered under his breath something like: “We have got to get you two different codenames.” He scanned around the area. The two vans filled with drugs still remained, even though the thugs that were guarding them were either injured on the floor or had fled.  
“Felicity, the drugs are secure. Where is Lan-” Oliver’s report to Felicity was interrupted by an array of choking noises. Sara perked up from where she was, a few feet away helping Laurel to her feet. The men they had recently beaten were taking some sort of pill and it was clear that the pill was designed to kill them. Their mouths foamed with blood and body fluids and they made these sickly noises that were halfway between a choke and a gurgle. Blood was pouring out of their noses and mouths.  
Oliver immediately knocked a pill out of one of the men’s hands with a well-aimed arrow. The man scrambled for the pill, but Sara lunged at him- much to the protest of Laurel, who almost fell over- and twisted his arm into an arm bar. They needed answers and him dead wouldn’t help their cause. Oliver knocked another arrow, but he was too late; all the others were dead. They had taken their pills.  
Oliver yelled in the man’s face, “Who is the Warlord and what are his plans?” The man remained silent, unfazed by being screamed at by the Starling City vigilante himself. Oliver grew so frustrated that he just knocked him out.  
“What’s going on?” Felicity questioned through the comm in the middle of Oliver’s interrogation. Her voice was loud and slightly deranged, so clearly this wasn’t the first time she had asked her question.  
“The Warlord’s men took suicide pills. Whoever this Warlord guy is, he is very important to them.” Sara answered. There was a tone of anger in her voice, like she was mad at herself for letting this happen.  
“Get me one of those pills. There might be some sort of clue in the chemical makeup of it. Or something else that we can use to find the Warlord.” Felicity ordered.  
“Yes, ma’am.” Sara responded, picking up the pill Oliver had knocked from the guy’s hand. It was small. It looked more like a miniature marble than a lethal pill.  
~~  
Back at the Foundry, Oliver was looking over Laurel, making sure she was okay and hadn’t sustained any serious injuries. Felicity was running some tests on the pill and Sara was looking over her girlfriend’s shoulder at the computer. “The tests will take a few hours to come to any real conclusions, but from what I’ve done so far, it looks like a very concentrated version of the Kingdom Come drug.”  
“Why would the Warlord create a drug that kills people? Wouldn’t he eventually run out of customers?” Laurel questioned.  
“That’s what we were wondering too. But at this point, the Warlord is a complete mystery to us.” Sara said.  
“Isn’t there anyway to find a base of his? Or a factory of sorts where they are making the drug? Hell, a coat closet?” Oliver questioned.  
“If there was don’t you think I would have found something by now?” Felicity challenged. Sara put a gentle hand on her shoulder, telling her without words to calm down.  
He put his hands up as a gesture of apology and said, “It’s been a long night, I think we should all go home. Meet back here tomorrow and try to find some sort of lead.” Everyone nodded in agreement.  
“Maybe tomorrow you can go and spend time with Thea?” Laurel suggested, hopping off the table and reaching for her bag. She knew how hard Oliver fought to get his sister to come home, but now the two seem to hate each other. It’s heartbreaking, really.  
Oliver sighed heavily. His arms were crossed and he looked at his boots. “Thea and I aren’t exactly in the best standings right now. She told me she wanted space, so I decided to give her that space and I’m hoping she’ll come around sooner rather than later.” Oliver explained.  
“Do my ears deceive me or is the mighty Oliver Queen doing what someone tells him to do? And his little sister no less?” Laurel joked.  
Oliver cracked a half smile, but it was mostly a fake one. “Yes. Maybe doing what I’m told for once will be a good thing.” There was a twinge of pain in Oliver’s voice. It didn’t take a genius to see that Oliver loved Thea- especially now that she was the only family he had left. Both his parents were dead and Thea was his only sibling. The man had lost too much, so it was obvious he didn’t want to add his sister to the list.  
“She’ll come around Ollie.” Laurel replied in a soft voice. She offered the man a small smile and he shrugged his shoulders.  
~~  
It was nearly two am when the phone rang. Felicity and Sara had just gotten home a few hours ago and they were both reveling in the fact they’d be able to get six hours of sleep that night. Clearly, that plan was going to waste.  
Sara answered it, voice and mind still cloudy with sleep. “Mhmm,” she groaned, “Who is it?”  
“Hey Sara, its Dig. Sorry to bother you guys, but Lyla went into labor not too long ago and it’d be cool if Team Arrow could be here.” Dig said from the other end. He sounded really excited, albeit tired. Diggle and Lyla had both been at the hospital for the last couple of days, since Lyla’s due date was so near.  
“Don’t worry, we’ll be there.” Sara responded.  
“Awesome, and don’t worry, I already called the others and they’re meeting us at the hospital”  
Sara faked a pout, “What, the bisexual is at the bottom of your ‘to call’ list? That’s discrimination.”  
Dig laughed, “You know you’re way too badass to discriminate against. Now get you and your girlfriend’s ass over to the hospital.”  
“On it” Sara smirked.  
~~  
Sara and Felicity rushed to the hospital, with Sin in tow. The girl had insisted to go with them and frankly, the two women were too tired to argue with her. If anyone had any beef with their decision, they could take it up with a grumpy Sara, whom was someone you shouldn’t mess with on the best of days.  
The three arrived to the small waiting room, where Laurel and Thea were already seated. Roy and Oliver said they would be there soon- but that could mean anywhere from a few seconds to thirty minutes.  
“How much do you guys wanna bet Dig is going to try to get us to call him Papa Diggle?” Laurel asked.  
“Twenty bucks.” Sin replied without much hesitation.  
“Have you even met Diggle?” Thea wondered.  
Sin thought for a moment and nodded. “Well, sort of. At Sara’s resurrection bash. But if you guys are thinking that he’s that kind of guy, he probably is that guy. Just saying.”  
“Fair enough. What do you think they’ll name the baby?” Felicity questioned. She moved to take one of the empty seats and sat down rather ungracefully. She was so tired she didn’t really care much though.  
“Hopefully Thea.” Thea chuckled.  
“Please. If they were going to name her after one of us, they’ll obviously name her after me.” Laurel teased.  
All five women shared a laugh. They joked back and forth for a few minutes on who Diggle and Lyla would name the baby after, until Oliver and Roy showed up, looking confused as to how they could all be laughing at this time of morning.  
“Abercrombie, please don’t tell me the reason your late to the party is because you needed to get dressed. Not everything in life is a photoshoot.” Sin said to Roy, upon seeing that the boy was fully dressed in his jeans and hoodie. The women were still in their pajamas. Only Oliver and Roy were dressed in actually clothing.  
“Nice to see you too Sin.” Roy greeted.  
“Hello, Sin. It’s been a while.” Oliver said. He extended his hand for the girl to shake. The last time the two men was when Roy got shot with that arrow and Oliver used his castaway skills to pull it out.  
“Yeah, it has.” Sin replied, shaking his hand. She turned to Sara and Felicity. “You know, sometimes I forget just how many people you know.”  
Team Arrow smiled at her comment. Felicity muttered under her breath “You don’t know the half of it.”  
~~  
It was a few hours before they got news from Diggle. But it was worth the wait. Diggle came in, breathless, and dressed in scrubs, a huge smile spread across his face. “I’m a dad! Lyla gave birth to a beautiful baby girl and we named her after Lyla’s mother: Audrey Marie.” He said in less than two breaths. The man looked exhausted, his eyes had bags underneath them and his body sagged slightly, like he didn’t quite have the energy to hold himself up.  
“Congratulations!” Oliver said, clapping his hand on Dig’s shoulders. The two embraced in a tight hug that lasted a few moments.  
“You guys can come in and see her. The doctor gave his approval to allow visitors.” Diggle said, still bursting with excitement. I  
~~  
Lyla was sitting in her hospital bed, holding a small bundle in her arms. She was making cooing noises at her baby and rocking her back and forth softly. If Diggle looked exhausted, Lyla looked half dead. She was covered in dry sweat- no doubt the labor hadn’t been easy- and she looked like she hadn’t slept a wink in the last three days. Which she probably hadn’t, given the fact she’d spent the last 72 hours in the hospital. Despite that, she still looked happy. And why not? After all these years she finally had everything she’d ever wanted in life: a husband and a child, not to mention a successful career and great friends.  
Everyone entered one at a time, as to not overwhelm the new mother. Sin was the last to enter and she remained in the back, not having ever met Lyla and only having met Dig once (even that was briefly and at Sara’s ‘Welcome Back From The Dead party’). Though, Sara and Felicity insisted in bringing the girl along because if she was going to live with them, she might as well get acquainted with their friends. Perhaps, eventually, even the alter egos of said friends.  
Dig stood nearby Sin and Oliver near Diggle. Roy stood a few feet away from the three, not assure what he should do exactly. The four were admiring the scene from afar. Well, Sin and Roy more so observing than admiring. Sin had never been a fan of young children, despite the fact that young children seemed to like her.  
“Is it just me, or does the baby kind of look like a potato?” Sin whispered to Roy.  
He chuckled and responded in a low voice, “All babies look like potatoes.”  
“True, Abercrombie. Very true.”  
Oliver and Diggle looked at the teenagers, slightly annoyed by their conversation, but also amused by it. The two kids may not want to admit it, but they were pretty similar to each other.  
“I think Audrey looks more like a misshapen eggplant if you asked me. Especially when she first came out.” Diggle added with a chuckle.  
Sin and Roy looked at the man, slightly incredulously. They were, more than a bit shocked to find that he was actively poking fun at his own kid. They thought he would have knocked them out for comparing his daughter to vegetables, not join in on the action. Dig just shrugged his massive shoulders.  
The women, minus Sin, all flocked over to Lyla and the baby. Especially Felicity. She’s the one that go the closest and even asked to hold little Audrey Marie. It had always been a dream of Felicity’s to have a family and children of her own- or at the very least, adopt. She had always taken well to children and in high school, she even baby sat a lot of the local kids- whom all loved her and her quirky nature. When Audrey was in her arms, she swayed gently back and forth, making several different faces at the infant, who despite her eventful day, was still wide awake.  
Sara couldn’t take her eyes off her girlfriend and the way she handled the baby. Felicity definitely had strong maternal instincts and knew how to apply them. Sara knew Felicity was good with children and every once in a while, the topic of kids would come up- but normally it was in a euphoric, far off sense. Those talks were always brief and never too detailed. Felicity was normally the one that started those conversations. Sara was secretly afraid to have kids, mostly because of the life they both lead. She didn’t want her children to be used by her enemies as a way to get to them. She didn’t want people getting hurt if she could avoid it, especially not her own kids.  
But, such facts did not stop Sara from falling more in love with Felicity as she watched her play with the baby. And the look of slight disappointment that crossed Felicity’s face when she handed Audrey to Thea was downright adorable. Even when Felicity passed Audrey, Felicity kept looking at her, eyes full of an emotion that Sara could not quite read. Whatever it was, it was something pure and something that made Sara fall so much more in love with Felicity.  
(Which, Sara didn’t realize it was possible for her to fall further in love)  
~~  
Not to Sara’s surprise, Felicity talked about children later that night. Well, it was more morning than it was night, since they didn’t get home until six. Still, Felicity was cuddled into Sara’s side, and she was half asleep, mumbling about how great Sara would be as a mother.  
“You are so kind and you have such a big heart and you’re really protective and you’re so beautiful so our children would be so beautiful and you would just be a great mother.” Felicity rambled.  
Sara chuckled and ran her fingers through Felicity’s hair. “I’m not that good with kids, Lis.”  
Felicity sat up, propping herself on one elbow. “You’re really good with Sin.”  
“Sin’s different. She’s older, for one. She’s an orphan. And I saved her from being gang raped, so I think she feels a certain debt to me.” Sara replied.  
“Still, you’re a good parent to her. You take care of her and make sure she’s safe. And she cares a whole hell of a lot about you and she worships you, and I know that you care a lot about her. More than you’d like to admit, probably.” Felicity retorted.  
Sara gave a small smile, since Felicity’s words were completely true. (They normally were, Sara isn’t going to deny that). But Sara’s smile faded into a frown on concentration.  
“Felicity, I just don’t think it’s smart to have kids with the life that we lead. We’re hardly ever home because we’re too busy being vigilantes and fighting criminals.” Sara confessed.  
There was a flash of something across Felicity’s face. Sara couldn’t quite make it out in the dim light, but she could tell it was a mixture of anger and confusion and hurt. Then it passed and it softened into something else. It took a few seconds but Sara knew what it was: understanding.  
“You’re afraid that if we have kids they’ll get hurt because of us.” Felicity said quietly.  
Sara nodded, unwilling to look at Felicity. “I’ve seen plenty of kids caught in the crossfires. First it was with the League- our targets were too often children who had to pay the price along with their parents. Then, it was with us, with Team Arrow. Kids get hurt all the time because of the villains and the violence we caused and that we can’t control. I don’t want to think what would happen to our own kids, if we had any.” Sara explained.  
Gently, Felicity tugged Sara’s chin, so her girlfriend was looking at her. She cupped Sara’s cheek in her hand and leaned up to kiss her tenderly. “I know you’re scared, babe. I was just talking, since having kids has always been an aspiration of mine. Obviously we don’t have to make any decisions just yet. Or for a while. Right now, having you is enough.” Felicity punctuated her little speech with another kiss on Sara’s lips.  
The other woman nodded, but she still felt a little pang of guilt in the pit of her stomach. All she wanted was to make Felicity happy. And she knew kids were a way to make her happy, but Sara didn’t think she could handle putting her own kids in danger- and they would be always in danger, merely because they were her kids.  
Felicity had eventually fallen asleep while Sara stayed awake, just thinking of all the reasons having kids was a bad idea. She wanted to make Felicity happy, but not at the expense of someone else’s safety, especially not children. Especially not her own.  
~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what did you guys think? Please let me know! As always, thank you for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> So what did you guys think? Like I said before, there is no excuse for making you guys wait so long and I am so sorry about that. But I thank you for being patient. I’ll try to update as quickly as possible. If you have any ideas/suggestions, please let me know! Thank you for reading!


End file.
